Center City’s trendiness factor continues to rise. This past week, the Morgan Group and development partner Clemens Construction Co. announced plans to replace a dilapidated parking garage, a diner, and some low-end retail near 17th and Locust streets with a Philadelphia branch of the Hudson Hotel — a hip boutique hotel made famous in Manhattan. The developers propose to construct a modern 12-story building including the 300 room hotel, two stories of “luxury retail,” and at least one bar/restaurant on site. The Morgan Group describes the Hudson Hotel’s New York location as “exuberantly energetic, breathtakingly beautiful, and architecturally unpredictable.” This exciting development adds further fuel to Philadelphia’s transformation into a world-class city.

Philadelphia has asserted itself as a magnet for the nation’s millennials. Accordingly, local developers continue to target their developments to this growing young, energetic, and creative population. For example, Brickstone Realty Companies recently announced plans to transform another Center City property into millennial friendly office space. Brickstone intends to turn a run-down historic property on 11th Street between Market and Sansom into 30,000 square feet of “creative office space” with open spaces and expansive windows. Brickstone also plans to provide for ground floor retail.

Chinatown’s proposed Eastern Tower Community Center moves closer to reality. The Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation hoped to begin construction of the 23-story mixed use apartment tower and community center at 10th and Vine Streets almost two years ago. Just recently, however, the State delivered a $3.7 million grant to the the long-stalled project that, coupled with foreign investment through the Federal Government’s EB-5 immigrant-visa program and a bank loan, provides much of the funding necessary to make the project a reality. PCDC intends for the project to be the “hub of Asian-American activity” in Philadelphia.